1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to spinning reels. More specifically, the present invention relates to spinning reels that attach to a fishing rod and enable fishing line to be reeled out and retrieved.
2. Background Information
Spinning reels generally have a reel unit that is mounted to a fishing rod, a rotor rotatably mounted to the reel unit that guides fishing line, and a spool onto which fishing line that has been guided by the rotor is wound. The reel unit is usually formed from a single synthetic resin or metal, and includes a reel body and a T-shaped rod attachment leg which extends diagonally upward from the reel body, and is integral therewith. The rotor includes a cylindrical portion, rotor arms, and a bail arm rotatably mounted to the reel unit. The rotor arms are connected to a rear side outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion. Further, the rotor arms oppose each other on both sides of the cylindrical portion. The bail arm is pivotably mounted to fore-ends of the rotor arms. Further, the bail arm guides the fishing line to the spool.
With this type of spinning reel, mounting a planer-shaped cover member over the entire surface from a rear end portion to a lower end portion of the reel unit, or over the entire outer peripheral portion of the rotor arm in order to prevent the reel unit from being scratched is known, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application H5-39268. Such a cover can protect the rear end portion and the lower end portion of the reel unit, and the outer peripheral portion of the rotor arm, which can come into contact with the ground when the spinning reel is placed thereon.
However, with this type of spinning reel with the cover member mounted thereto, since the cover member covers a wide area such as the entire reel unit or rotor, the cover member itself may be scratched due to contact with the ground when the spinning reel is placed on the ground. This scratching leads to a less attractive appearance.
To address this issue, fixing a cushioning member made of an elastic substance to a location which can come into contact with the ground when the spinning reel is placed on the ground is known, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 2001-136874. The cushioning member is made of an elastic synthetic resin material, and is a rod shaped member mounted to a groove portion formed on a curved portion of the reel unit or rotor. In this case, a portion of the rotor, which easily comes in contact with the ground in a conventional manner, does not directly touch the ground. Thus, the rotor is hardly scratched even when the spinning reel is placed on the ground.
With the above conventional spinning reel having a cushion member, the cushion member made of an elastic synthetic resin material is mounted to the reel unit or the rotor. However, spinning reels normally used outdoors often come into contact with hard places such as rocks when the spinning reels are placed on the ground. Thus, the cushion member deteriorates and sometimes peels away from the reel unit or the rotor due to the resulting contact friction. If the cushion member peels away from the reel unit or the rotor, the reel unit or the rotor directly comes in contact with the ground. Thus, the reel unit or the rotor may be scratched.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved spinning reel. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.